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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. march — the month
  5. pit — in a race
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pit — a hole
  10. band — a music group
  11. march — the month
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. clip — to cut
  16. band — a ring
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — music
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. march — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com